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Re: Going Treatment Free - step 1

Mathematics, in order to contain a hive. 7 supers is the most effective number. 100 hives one would need 700 supers. If you only have half that number of supers, the other 50 needs to be split. The 50 gets turned in 150. So now you have 200 hives or would need 1400 supers. Mathematically impossible. Unless you borrowed 1000 supers. The increase is exponential...

If someone can figure out my biggest problem every year of never enough equipment. Then I'll bee interested in what you have to say.... Everything else is blah blah blah.....

Re: Going Treatment Free - step 1

Tim Ives - thanks for joining the discussion and clearing up everything that has been said about your method. Clearly you've worked out a system that works great for you in your area so congratulations for that. I imagine that a lot of what you are doing would also be at least informative to other bee keepers in other parts of the company.

However, I'm willing to bet that if you did the exact same thing here in the south it wouldn't work out exactly the same. Your bees are getting good quality year round nutrition not only because you leave them plenty of stores but also because according to what you say your summer dearth mostly only occurs in the month of August. Last year our dearth began in early June and ran until this spring.

Leaving on lots of honey might keep them from starving during a long hot dearth but it won't result in much brood production or strong colonies going into winter.

Again, congratulations on your success, but be aware that you are painting with a mighty broad brush when you use terms like "Sugar feeding Idiot."

Re: Going Treatment Free - step 1

Don Semple, don't care....wouldn't bee the first time being kicked off a site..... Why do you think I don't comment on sites like this???????????????????????? Again don't care.. I'm not the one losing bees...

Re: Going Treatment Free - step 1

Last year no.... For one they lost momentum with the 2 week April freeze then the dearth from June till end of July when soybeans bloomed. Couple yards closer to mint did better, because they are irrigated.
This year is looking good so far. The hives in the blueberries hit 2 supers in first week.

Re: Going Treatment Free - step 1

Close David. 2001-2007 purchased 54 packages/4nucs. 50-90% losses.

2006/07 winter lost 28out of 29.

2007 bought 10 more packages and put out 40 swarm catch boxes. Caught 15 swarms. Winter 07/08 lost all the package bees and only lost one of the swarms and still had my 06' survivor which was actually from 04' Russian Kelley package. 2007 was the first year I didn't usr any sugar since had mostly all new drawn comb from 06'. Since my only package survivor was a 3 deep system. Started running them all that way. My original thought was pull a split drop the 3rd deep down and put a couple supers on. Didn't want to mahe splits till after black locust flow. Problem was the triples started swarming out 4/27 and would be done by May 7th ish. So started supering before 4/11(16 days to make Qcells) results was unreal amounts of honey. Just started adjusting from there.

If you get on the IBA website, community michiana beeline. Read thru them since 2008. You'll notice I'm the only one in this area doing good on honey production. Doesn't matter where I place the bees.

No.. not some hives. Yards......

Barry, no that's been real life since 07' and for s growing number of people in my area.

I just turned Unity Garden hives from 4 into 18. But the get grant monies for equipment. I've built all my own from recycled lumber, including frames up until 2010. Not feasible to be milling few thousand frames.

Re: Going Treatment Free - step 1

Forgive me if I withhold judgement for a bit longer because if Tim is truly onto something here then the results to beekeeping as we know it will be profound. Honey production will skyrocket, migratory beekeeping will die (as someone who has been away from home 3 months and counting I like that part) declining bee numbers will turn into exponential increases and the fears by many of pesticide problems with bee hives will be but a distant memory. Go get em Tim and anyone else using this system and I mean that sincerely. You have an audience.

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe."- Andy Rooney